Connecting coupling with a switch unit

ABSTRACT

The invention aims at simplifying operation of a connecting coupling ( 10 ) for transferring gaseous and/or liquid fluids, more particularly for filling the gas tank of vehicles. Said connecting coupling has a switch unit ( 21 ) for actuating valves ( 35 ) by means of a switch slide ( 27 ). According to the invention, said switch slide ( 27 ) is coupled to an outer ring slide ( 31 ) by at least one bolt ( 29 ).

The invention relates to a connection coupling for the transfer ofgaseous and/or liquid fluids, especially for filling the gas tanks ofmotor vehicles.

Such connection couplings are to ensure a secure and quickly connectabletransfer of a fluid from a pressurized source, e.g. from a fillingstation to a vehicle. The particularly important aspect in this respectis the simple and secure ability to operate the same, so that even incase of high filling pressures of 200 bars and more, easy handling isensured.

Such a connection coupling is described in WO 98/05898 of the applicant,with the quick-action connection coupling having a housing with a fluidinlet and a fluid outlet as well as several valves in order to ensure asecure sealing of the quick-action connection coupling until thecomplete establishment of the connection. Said valves are switched afterthe attachment of the quick-action connection coupling by twisting acontrol lever in a predetermined sequence, with the discharge valvebeing opened first by sliding the quick-action connection coupling ontoa connection nipple, whereupon following further movement of the controllever the collet chucks acting as locking elements are closed andfinally the inlet valve is opened. The control valve is in engagementvia an eccentric shaft with the sliding sleeve for activating the colletchucks and with a sealing piston which also releases the fluid inletafter the performed connection of the connection coupling.

As a result of twisting of the connection tubes it is possible that thecontrol lever assumes an unfavorable position (e.g. towards the rightside), which is highly inconvenient for a left-handed person whenoperating the connection coupling.

Although the known connection coupling has proven its worth by itsespecially secure connection capabilities, it is still worthy ofimprovement with respect to its handling.

The invention is accordingly based on the object of providing aconnection coupling, especially a quick-action connection coupling ofthe kind mentioned above, which in combination with a compactconfiguration offers especially simple handling.

This object is achieved by a connection coupling according to thefeatures of claim 1. Preferred further developments of the invention arethe subject matter of the dependent claims.

The proposed connection coupling is especially suitable for use in aquick-action connection coupling for refueling natural gas motorvehicles. An especially simple and compact design is obtained becausethe control lever in combination with the switch unit is provided with aconfiguration so as to be rotatable about the central axis and thus itcan assume any rotary position as desired by the user during theconnection process. In particular, the switch unit can be twisted in apreferred embodiment by the mutually opposite ring slides to a positionsuitable for the user, thus offering an especially secure and convenienthandling.

As a result of pass-through slots integrated within the connectioncoupling in the middle housing portion, a secure guidance of the switchunit is achieved and thus a stable and compact configuration of theconnection coupling is obtained. Since the switch unit is situatedoutside of the pressure region, simple and easy operation is ensured, sothat the quick-action connection coupling can also be connected bynon-professionals with ease.

In order to prevent the build-up of pressure in the case of any leakagesof a seal, a ventilation bore is preferably provided in the housing ofthe switch unit. The same is preferably closed off with a sinteredfilter or a similar material, which thus prevents the entrance of dirt.

An embodiment of the invention is now explained and described in closerdetail by reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a connection coupling with an integratedswitch unit, with the connection coupling being shown in a longitudinalsemi-sectional view and in the position connected to a connectionnipple, and

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged representation of the switch unit of theconnection coupling according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a connection coupling 10 in theform of a so-called quick-action connection coupling which is coupled toa connection nipple indicated in this case on the left side. Theconnection coupling 10 comprises a tubular housing 11 with severalmutually screwed-down housing parts 11 a, 11 b and 11 c, with the righthousing part 11 c being used as the inlet region 12 and the left regionas outlet 13 for the forwarding of the fluid to be transmitted to theconnection nipple 30. A switch unit 21 with control lever 50 (cf. FIG.2) is arranged around the middle housing part 11 b. The inlet region 12comprises a connection adapter 14 to which a fluid line 12′ can beconnected via a thread for supplying the fluid to be transferred. Theconnection adapter 14 with an inserted filter sleeve can be configuredin adjustment to the fluid to be transferred, especially to the desiredfeed pressure values, opening cross sections, etc.

In the region of outlet 13, several oblong collet chucks 15 are providedwhich are arranged in tubular form and which can be spread in a radiallyoutward fashion shortly before the insertion on the connection nipple30. The oblong collet chucks 15 are pre-tensioned by an annular spring16, so that the collet chucks 15 can spread radially to the outside inan automatic manner (as known by the aforementioned state of the art).At the left outer end with inwardly crimped surfaces, the collet chucks15 comprise interlocking engagement profiles 17 which are configured soas to correspond to a groove-like connecting profile section of theconnection nipple 30. Their configuration is also described in closerdetail in the aforementioned state of the art, so that any furtherexplanation can be omitted. It merely needs to be mentioned for reasonsof completeness that in the region of the outlet 13 a sealing piston 22is inwardly guided which comprises at its front face side a conicalsealing surface 23 for sifting close to an inner sealing ring of theconnection nipple 30, so that the gaseous and/or liquid fluid whichsubstantially flows along the central axis of the connection coupling 10cannot escape to the outside.

An outside sliding sleeve 18 is provided around the collet chucks 15,which sliding sleeve is guided on the cylindrical outside jacket of thehousing part 11 a which is on the left side in this case and ispre-tensioned with a pressure spring 19 in the direction away from theconnection nipple 30. The pressure spring 19 rests on a support ring 20and thus pushes the sliding sleeve 18 towards a control lever 50 with aneccentric shaft 51, the structure of which will be explained below incloser detail, especially by reference to FIG. 2.

The discharge valve 25 provided on the sealing piston 22 seals by meansof a sealing ring as valve seat 26 relative to the sealing piston 22 inthe closed position. The discharge valve 25 is pressurized by a pressurespring 28 which rests towards the right side on a switch slide 27 of theswitch unit 21. This discharge valve 25 ensures that in the uncoupledposition (not shown here) or shortly before the connection of theconnection coupling 10 with the connection nipple 30 the fluid suppliedthrough the connection adapter 14 cannot flow out. The switch slide 27is displaced during the uncoupling of the connection coupling 10 fromthe connection nipple 30 by the switch unit 21 along the connectioncoupling axis and thus forms a ventilation valve 35 in combination witha sealing disk 24.

The ventilation valve 35 and the switch slide 27 are actuated bypivoting the control lever 50 because the eccentric shaft 51 which isconnected with the same and is held in a sleeve 52 is coupled with theswitch slide 27, namely through the engagement of several bolts 29 whichare displaceably inserted into axial slots 32 and are in connection withan outside ring slide 31. It comprises an annular groove into which thelower end of the eccentric shaft 51 engages. The entire switch unit 21is rotatable about said ring slide 31 with the control lever 50 becausethe sleeve 52 is rotatably held on the outside circumference of themiddle housing part 11 b.

As can be seen from the connection position of the connection coupling10 as illustrated here, the engagement profile 17 of the collet chucks15 is brought into engagement with the connection nipple 30 during theinsertion on the connection nipple 30. By moving (pivoting by approx.180°) the control lever 50 to the position as shown here, the slidingsleeve 18 is pushed over the collet chucks 15 and thus locked. When thepressure is applied (the beginning of the tank filling process), thesealing piston 22 is displaced at first to the left (also under theaction of spring 28). When it sits close to the sealing surface 23, thevalve seat 26 on the sealing piston 22 and thus the discharge valve 25are opened under displacement of the sealing piston 22 to the right. Inthis process, the engagement profile 17 has already engaged on thecorrespondingly configured connecting profile section of the connectionnipple 30. As a result of the axial movement of the sliding sleeve 18,the same engages over the radially outer ends of the collet chucks 15,so that they are held in an interlocked way on the connection nipple 30.

For releasing the connection coupling 10 and thus returning theconnection position as shown here to the opening position, the slidingsleeve 18 is pushed back by the pressure spring 19 after the twisting ofthe control lever 50. After a short path, the collet chucks 15 canspread again in a radially outward manner. Since the fluid pressure wasinterrupted beforehand (e.g. by closing the refueling valves), thesealing piston 22 is pushed here to the right in the direction towardsthe inlet region 12 and the discharge valve 25 on the valve seat 26 isclosed.

The inlet region 12 further comprises an inlet valve 45 with anassociated valve seat 46 centrally in the housing 11 or the housing part11 c of the connection coupling 10. The inlet valve 45 is also axiallydisplaceable by the control lever 50 and its eccentric shaft 51 bycoupling with the switch slide 27. Said switch slide 27 displaces avalve slide 47 of the inlet valve 47 to the opening position via thesealing disk 24 in the illustrated connection position, so that thefluid flowing in from the inlet region 12 can flow through the valveslide 47 and a pass-through in the sealing disk 24 and the tubularswitch slide 27 towards the outlet 13.

When the connection coupling 10 is released, the switch slide 27 isdisplaced via bolt 29 to the left by twisting the control lever 50 (byapproximately 180°), so that the sealing disk 24 can detach from thesealing engagement. The pressure can thus decrease within the connectioncoupling 10 via the pass-through slots to a pressure compensationchamber 44.

As was mentioned above, the ventilation valve 35 is opened by theeccentric shaft 51 and the switch slide 27 during the uncoupling of theconnection coupling 10. As a result, any still applying pressure mediumcan thus flow via the pressure compensation chamber 44 to a ventilationbore 43 which extends parallel to the central fluid passage (throughvalves 45, 35 and 25) in the housing part 11 c of the connectioncoupling 10. The ventilation bore 43 opens into a second line 12″ whichis preferably arranged as a return hose and is enclosed by a housing cap48 like the feed line 12′ in order to be used as a handle for easyhandling. The ventilation line 12″ and the fluid line 12′ which isconnected to adapter 14 thus always extend substantially parallel withrespect to each other.

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of switch unit 21, with a ventilation bore33 being provided in sleeve 52 for a possible pressure decrease. It isclosed off with a filter disk 34, especially a sintered filter, and liesopposite the ring slide 31 in the axial direction, which slide ismovable in the axial direction by means of the eccentric shaft 51 andalso axially displaces the inner switch slide 27 by a number ofcentimeters via bolts 29, to the extent that this is possible by thelength of the axial slots 32.

1. A connection coupling for transferring gaseous and/or liquid fluids,especially for filling gas tanks of motor vehicles, comprising a switchunit or actuating valves via a switch slider, characterized in that theswitch slide is coupled by at least one bolt with an outer ring slide.2. A connection coupling according to claim 1, characterized in thatseveral bolts, especially four of them, are provided between the switchslide and the outer ring slide.
 3. A connection coupling according toclaim 2, characterized in that the bolts are guided in axial slots inthe middle housing part of the connection coupling.
 4. A connectioncoupling according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in thatthe switch unit comprises a control lever and an eccentric shaft.
 5. Aconnection coupling according to claim 4, characterized in that theeccentric shaft engages in a circular annular groove on the ring slide.6. A connection coupling according to claim 4 or 5, characterized inthat the eccentric shaft is held in a sleeve which is rotatably heldabout 360° on the circumference of the middle housing part.
 7. Aconnection coupling according to claim 6, characterized in that thesleeve comprises a ventilation bore.
 8. A connection coupling accordingto claim 7, characterized in that the ventilation bore is closed off bya filter disk.
 9. A connection coupling according to claim 8,characterized in that the filter disk is arranged as a sintered filter.